'Ghost bikes' memorialize cyclists killed on road

Dec. 14, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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A "ghost bike," painted white and locked to a no-parking sign, was left in memory of cyclist Brian Winfrey, who was killed at the intersection of Euclid Street and Wakefield Avenue in Garden Grove on Nov. 26. Winfrey, 47, of Laguna Hills, was riding along the right shoulder of Euclid Street near Wakefield Avenue when he was struck by a white Honda CRV traveling south on Euclid shortly before 7 p.m. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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James Fife, a resident who lives near the corner of Knott and La Palma Avenues in Buena Park, looks at the ghost bike memorial of Jeremy Kidder, 20, who died Nov. 5 after a traffic crash. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A "ghost bike," painted white and locked to a no-parking sign, was left in memory of cyclist Brian Winfrey, who was killed at the intersection of Euclid Street and Wakefield Avenue in Garden Grove on Nov. 26. Winfrey was struck shortly before 7 p.m. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Two men study a ghost bike memorial for Jeremy Kidder, 20, who died Nov. 5 at the corner of Knott and La Palma avenues while riding his bike in Buena Park. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A "ghost bike" is set at an intersection in memory of Brian Winfrey. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Brian Winfrey, 47, of Laguna Hills, was riding along the right shoulder of Euclid Street near Wakefield Avenue when he was struck. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A "ghost bike" marks where bicyclist Brian Winfrey was hit. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A "ghost bike," painted white and locked to a no-parking sign, was left in memory of cyclist Brian Winfrey, who was killed at the intersection of Euclid Street and Wakefield Avenue in Garden Grove on Nov. 26. Winfrey, 47, of Laguna Hills, was riding along the right shoulder of Euclid Street near Wakefield Avenue when he was struck by a white Honda CRV traveling south on Euclid shortly before 7 p.m.BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Michael Mata, 22, was riding home when he stopped on the corner of Knott and La Palma avenues to look at a memorial, a "ghost bike."

The bicycle, painted in a stark white, is chained to a light pole. It carries a sign that reads: "A cyclist was killed here," referring to Jeremy Kidder, a bicyclist who, in November, died in a crash at age 20.

On a recent Wednesday evening, drivers zoom through on the wide roadway at this Buena Park intersection. Cyclists stick to the sidewalk; pedestrians hurry to cross the intersection. But when the light is red many heads turn toward the solemn memorial.

"I kind of tripped out when I saw it," said Mata, of Anaheim.

It's not the only ghost bike. In an anonymous nod of solidarity, bicycle advocates have placed about a dozen of the haunting memorials in Orange County to mark spots where cyclists were killed in traffic, urging motorists to be wary of cyclists on the road.

Victims of car crashes or shootings are often honored through makeshift street memorials by family members and friends who place candles and flowers at the site of their death, but the placement of ghost bikes is a bit more obscure.

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Those responsible for setting up ghost bikes typically do so at night or early morning. They don't want the spotlight on them, but, rather, on the tragedy that occurred.

Danny Gamboa of Long Beach began filming and installing Orange County ghost bikes about a year ago when he met fellow cyclist and Cypress resident Leslie Caldera, who has set up the vigils for years.

"There was a time when he (Leslie) would be really busy with work and I told him I'd go ahead and do it," Gamboa said. "Between he and I, we take care of this area."

Gamboa and Caldera build the ghost bikes with parts donated by The Bike Guy, a Long Beach shop. And, through the Ghost Bikes-LA Facebook page, which they both help administer, fans of the page also post of bikes they are willing to donate. Once the paint job is done, Gamboa and Caldera customize the bicycles with a sign including the fallen rider's name and a message: "Watch for bikes" or "A cyclist was killed here."

The first ghost bikes appear to have been created in St. Louis in 2003. Since then, the ritual has spread across the world from Mexico to London and Austria and Ecuador, according to ghostbikes.org – a website that chronicles the memorials.

"There's been a few lately that I put up the day after it happens," Gamboa said. "It helps people react more."

Here in Orange County, Gamboa installed the most recent ghost bike in early December to commemorate Brian Winfrey, a cyclist who died in a Garden Grove crash Nov. 26.

Ghost bikes can serve as an artistic platform of bicycle-safety awareness, Gamboa said.

This year, 14 bicyclists have died in Orange County – 12 of whom were involved in a crash with another vehicle, coroner's officials said. Most were male, ranging from a 14-year-old boy to a 79-year-old man. In September, two women riding bikes were struck and killed in Newport Beach in the span of two days, Sept. 14 and 15.

To address tensions between motorists and bicyclists after the repeated deaths, the city of Newport Beach installed banners that read: "Same Roads, Same Rules." In October, the Newport Beach City Council approved a bike-safety improvement fund and waived fees associated with a memorial ride in honor of the fallen cyclists.

The city's task force on bicycle safety even discussed the placement of ghost bikes in a meeting shortly after the deaths. In Newport, the city's policy is to remove the memorials 30 days after they were placed.

To Gamboa, bicycling in Orange County is a different experience than in Long Beach.

"Orange County has a lot less bike lanes," Gamboa said. "The attitudes of the drivers in Orange County are very entitled."

"Many of them may not be aware that bicyclists have the right to share the road," Gamboa added. "Typically, the streets in Orange County have a faster limit. People drive faster ... and drive more aggressively."

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Early this year, the League of American Bicyclists, a nonprofit advocacy group, launched a website, Every Bicyclist Counts, to document bicycle fatalities. The site is somewhat of a "virtual ghost bike" that aims to highlight particularly dangerous locations and features fallen cyclists from across the country, including those who have died in Orange County.

The league's goal of their new site is twofold: to identify problem areas and memorialize fallen riders.

"Bicycling is a really safe activity. ... But at the same time we would like there to be accountability when bicyclists are hit," said Elizabeth Kiker, the league's executive vice president.

For Patricia Paine, the mother of a 41-year-old bicyclist who died in a July hit-and-run crash in Fullerton, the ghost bike memorial site was a place she would visit to feel closer to her son. No arrests have been made from that crash.

"When I saw the ghost bike it was like my heart just opened up," Paine said. "It was such a joyful feeling ... this overwhelming feeling of love. It meant so much to our family."

Paine would often drive from her Bakersfield home to the ghost bike site memorial on Bastanchury Road and Morelia Avenue. It's "the last place where he was," she said. On Nov. 8, the intersection served as a gathering point for Richard's family and friends who came together to celebrate his birthday.

When the ghost bike was taken away, Paine was frantic.

Paine went to the police, called the city and asked if they had removed the memorial. Her sons found the Facebook profile that features ghost bike memorials and asked if anyone knew who had taken it. As of now Paine still has no answers of the bike's whereabouts. City officials said they did not remove it. To replace the ghost bike, her sons installed a cross.

"That's all we had," Paine said.

As Mata stood next to Kidder's ghost bike, which has since been removed, he recalled a close call he had when he crossed paths with a driver who was going too fast.

"It's crazy because you never know if you can expect a drunk driver out of nowhere and they can hit you," Mata said.

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